At this point, officially revealing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's battle royale mode, called Warzone according to multiple leaks, seems like a formality. Leaked Warzone gameplay has found its way online on multiple occasions, with more details emerging about the mode in the past few days. Now, a new leak claims to know when the mode will actually release.
According to the newly leaked information, Warzone is slated to launch early in March, with the most likely release date being March 10th given that Modern Warfare updates typically drop on Tuesdays. Marketing for Warzone may begin as early as this week, with various content creators and media outlets supposedly being invited to take part in a preview event for the mode.
In addition to current Modern Warfare players being able to access the mode, the leak claims that players will be able to access Warzone as a free-to-play standalone expansion, with the ability to purchase Modern Warfare being included within it. This information falls in line with other leaks, which also claimed that Modern Warfare's battle royale mode would be free-to-play.
While the leak seems accurate and does make a fair bit of sense, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Development is fickle, and it's always possible that Modern Warfare has to push back the mode. It would certainly be nice to play Warzone so soon, but a lot can happen between now and then.
Warzone being free-to-play would likely prove to be a wise move on Activision's part. Activision has made more from battle passes than it did from other monetization methods, and allowing players to access Warzone for free, though with the ability to spend $10 on the battle pass, might prove wildly successful for the company. The same monetization method has worked well with the likes of Fortnite, so it's only a matter of time until more companies jump on board.
For now, fans will have to wait and see what Warzone actually has in store for them. Black Ops 4's battle royale mode, Blackout, proved to be very popular among players, and given that Modern Warfare has been even more successful, it seems likely that Warzone will become a big deal.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Video Games Chronicle